Colorado disfranchises voters over unchecked box

Anyone still not believe the Republicans are engaging in a war on voting? (That's what the ACORN flap is about, but I hope to get to that later.)

In Colorado, some 6,000 people might not be able to vote all because a box on their registration form wasn't checked. They can cast provisional ballots, but those might not be counted. Part of the form tells folks to enter a driver's license or state ID number. But what people didn't realize is that they're supposed to check a box if they don't have a license or ID.

It turns out the rule that disfranchises voters is being issued by Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman - a Republican, as you might guess. This is the same Mike Coffman who allowed the work-for-less measure to appear on the ballot even though the petition had so many phony signatures that it didn't have enough real signatures to qualify.

Coffman says he's just following federal law. Oh yeah? Well, Colorado is the only state that's been found to be doing this. Besides, it actually defies federal law.

Coffman has already been the subject of a state audit that discovered that he wasn't complying with voting laws. His latest diktat continues this pattern: It violates the motor voter law and part of the Voting Rights Act that says you can't be barred from voting because of an "error or omission" on registration forms.

The ukase by Coffman's office has nothing to do with the "integrity" of the voting system and everything to do with discouraging voting.

(Source: http://www.krdo.com/Global/story.asp?S=9171600;
http://cbs4denver.com/politics/registration.forms.colorado.2.839548.html)